King Juan Carlos attended official
opening of Parliament, also known in Spain as Xth legislature.
Together with the king are Queen Sofia, Felipe, Prince of Asturias,
and her wife Letizia, Princess of Asturias.

The King's speech gave emphasis on the
Parliament's duty to perform their responsibilities to seal people's
“trust in the institutions” of Spain. The King also highlighted
the importance of obeying the law, saying that no public figure is
above the law.

Among the issues that the King gave emphasis include
the pressing concerns on the country's rising unemployment, calling
the attention of those listening to him to act upon the crisis to
curb its impact on the citizens.

"All
of you, deputies and senators, are united in the obligation to
contribute with decisiveness and efficacy to getting over this crisis
and its negative effects on citizens,” he said.

The King's two daughters, Infantas Elena and Cristina were not present on the event. This is the first time that the royal daughters missed the opening of Parliament since 1979. Royal insiders believed that their absence were linked to Cristina's husband, Inaki Urdarangin's link to corruption scandal. Since the scandal's eruption, Urdarangin has been banned from the royal family or from appearing in royal and public functions.

A royal spokesperson said they declined the invitation to one of Spain's most important political events, citing personal reasons. "They did not accept their invitation for different reasons.